Hyderabad: Women have been found to wait longer in seeking medical help in case of a heart attack according to a recent study as they are unable to understand the symptoms of the pain. The pain in men is usually seen in the heart and left arm but for women the pain is in the back, shoulder and also stomach which makes them wait longer.
The delay in women, according to the study ranges from a minimum of 37 minutes to an hour before rushing to the hospital. The study found that women and their family members are not able to understand that the symptoms are due to a heart attack.
Understanding the symptoms in women has been a challenge for the doctors too, as it was earlier believed that heart attacks occurred only in men. Due to this reason, there have been limited studies. But in recent times, there is a lot of work being taken up in cardiovascular diseases in women to understand how they suffer from heart problems.
Dr M.S.S. Mukherjee, a senior cardiologist said, “In women, we are now able to understand that the pain is often in the back, neck region and shoulders. Complaints of indigestion are also seen in some patients. But there can also be false positives, hence it becomes important for them to get evaluated at a hospital. There is a lot of work which is now being taken up to understand cardiovascular diseases in women as more and more evidence will help to treat the condition better.”
In women, it has shown that the blockages due to cholesterol deposits happen in the smaller vessels, which is a major risk factor. These deposits are difficult to identify.
The deposits in larger and main arteries get picked up in the diagnostic reports and are easy to operate and extend care.
This is one of the prime reasons that lifestyle changes are being advocated.
Dr Shiv Kumar, senior cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals explained, “There are several factors which lead to women’s heart problems. Apart from genes, lifestyle problems, stress and also oral contraceptive pills are found to be one of the reasons. Women’s heart problems are different and it requires time for evaluation.”
